The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1887-02-02
SOME SOLID TALK.
The Reasons Why Some Farmers Do
Not Succeed.
BLUES GULLEY.

doubt, heard OF the failure In the
crops ir these parts. This failure
is traceable to a number of causes;
too much rain in June, July and
August, bad farming, mortgages
and guano. In old times, before the
merchants discovered guano, our
fathers made good crops by manure
manufactured in stables, barn lots,
cowpens and hog pens. These lots
and places were filled once in five
OF ten days with leaves, pine straw
and wood-mold and by March con-
tanned hundreds of tons Of manure;
M wagon load Of which was strong
er than a ton of modern guano. Then,
too, we boys had lots OF fun scrap
ing up the leaves, straw etc., and in
hauling it home. 1t is rue we did
not go squirrelling as often as the boys
do now, nor did we catch half as
many rabbits. Then, too, what
daddie made was his. We filled our
cribs with corn, fattened lots Of
year-old hogs and raced with u
neighbors to See who could raise
the largest and latest hogs. We
sold nearly all the hams after max
ing bacon Of them and with this
money bought shoes, hats, &C., and
paid taxes, The calves, lambs, hens
and turkeys were sent to Raleigh.
The eggs went to the country store
and were bartered for sugar, coffee
and spool cotton that is all of these
that were not consumed at home.
Father V bought a pound Of
guano, nor gave a mortgage in his
lite. He paid all his debts, went to
church every Sunday and helped
the poor. But we boys worked. Pa
thought it did us good, besides get
ting us used to it. Now nobody in
these parts works when he can help
it. We have no hogs, or sheep and
but n old cow, and she stands in a
half acre lot and is nearly dry. Dur
ing the winter no one in these parts
has raked up an OK cart load ofpine
tags. Nearly everybody is tired Of
farming. They say it don't pay and
are looking around for some easy
occupation. Should You, Mr.. Editor,
or your agent come down this way,
and hear any loud talking, or unusa-
al noise nfsthe woods don't get sea
ed, it is only some Of our young
men practicing preaching, or hold
ing meeting. A number have con-
Guided to enter the ministry, and
the woods are alive with young
Spurgeons and Bascoms. They have
not as yet decided what chnrch they
will preach in, but are getting ready
for the easiest to find a field in mot a
corn ield-and the best paying. So
they have dubbed together and +
now reading. The Church Messen-
ger. The Presbyterian, The Christian
Adrocate, The Biblical Recorder,
and will decide from these what
church to join by the time it is
warm enough to be immersed should
it come to that. They have scared
a number of the women in these
parts, and some actually thought the
negroes were rising, such is the
loudness Of some of these candidates
when they get warmed up. 1t looks
now that after a while we shall
have to board with the grocer or
Or commission merchant till these
men think we have eaten up Il
lands and houses and turn us out to
to die.
The principal cause of SO much
poverty and hard times among the
people is an unwillingness to work.
kThere is not a vocation or calling
among men where the same amount
Of carelessness and idleness would
not lead to ruin. The shoemaker
who would spend half his time fish
ing and hunting would starve. And
if the commission merchant was as
%inattentive to his business as is his
farmer customer he would break in
three months. And if you, Mr.. Ed
itor, should spend half of your time
sitting on a sharp rail talking poll
tics or spend three or four days in
every week doing nothing or even
hare hunting, all your subscribers
could not save you from bankruptcy.
The same amount of brains and en-
ergy necessary to make a success Of
store-keeping, or editing put into
farming would make every farmer
in North Carolina rich. The first
man who attempted to live by hunt
got so hungry, that he sold halfthe
world for what the bible calls "a
mess of n~ottaoe' TT is true that